Watervale Riesling
Watervale is a subregion of the well-known Clare Valley winegrowing district of South Australia and, much like its parent zone, is renowned for its dry white wines made from the Riesling grape variety. The town of Watervale, around which the subregion is centred, lies 15km (nine miles) south of Clare, just off the Riesling Trail wine tourism cycle and walking track.
Clare Valley, generally lies at higher altitudes than the Barossa Valley which causes more extreme climate variations. But the Clare Valley region is divided into various microclimates, of which Watervale is one of them. While the northern part of the Clare Valley is more open and influenced by warmer westerly winds from the Spencer Gulf, Watervale gets cooler breezes from Gulf St Vincent, conditions perfect for growing premium, world-famous Riesling.
“Watervale Riesling tends to show lemon and lime characters, with lifted blossom and fennel. This is due to the elevation (400-500m), soil profile (terra rossa over limestone) and the diurnal shift.” Keeda Zilm, Vickery Chief Winemaker
Eden Valley Riesling
Eden Valley sits within the wider Barossa Geographical Indication (GI) and is located an hour’s drive north-east of Adelaide. Eden Valley sits at a significantly higher altitude (217-630m above sea level) than the Barossa Valley, and this provides for lower growing season temperatures than the surrounding valley floor, with the final stages of ripening and harvesting taking place in significantly cooler conditions. Slower ripening, cool climate flavour development and a greater retention of acidity are the key attributes that make Eden Valley one of the best growing regions in Australia for the Riesling grape.
“Rieslings from Eden Valley display minerality and vibrant florals, with musky notes thanks to the altitude, varied microclimates and soil structures (black sand, grey loam and coarse rock) within this unique region.” – Keeda Zilm, Vickery Chief Winemaker
The Vickery Code
The cryptic code used for each bottling are a nod to John Vickery’s time at Leo Buring and the legendary ‘DW’ codes applied to those wines. The Vickery codes today, indicate region and variety (WVR = Watervale Riesling, EVR = Eden Valley Riesling), the day of the first pick (242 = 24 February) and the initials of the growers (KCS = Koerner, Castine, Stanway) in order of the blend components.
